ATTLEBORO, Mass. — Tuesday's top-5 MIAA girls matchup between Bishop Feehan and St. Mary's delivered in every way we could've hoped.
The Shamrocks, who sit atop our MIAA power rankings, hosted the fifth-ranked Spartans in a Catholic Central League showdown. Neither team led by more than seven points and both sides wrestled away lead changes in a contest that came down to the final possessions. Bishop Feehan ultimately defended home court, 60-57, securing the most significant pre-holiday break victory so far.
"We know St Mary's is a great team," Bishop Feehan coach Amy Dolores said. "They're a really good rival of ours, so we knew every run we had, they were gonna match it. This game did not disappoint at all."
Bishop Feehan (2-0) used a 17-4 run between the second and third quarters that turned its 29-23 deficit into a 40-33 lead. It was built heavily on its defense, which was impactful the entire contest, and quick running in transition for easy layups. St. Mary's clawed back by turning up its half-court defense and slowing the game down. Star Spartans prospect Bella Owumi was the focus for both teams, and her late skip pass from the corner led to a Jillian Roberts 3-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer that put St. Mary's back in front, 45-42.
From there, it was a battle of possessions, with Bishop Feehan forcing enough turnovers and capitalizing on them to win. Mollie Mullen's late 3-pointer from the right wing was the ultimate dagger.
"(Dolores) told us before the game that we're lucky to have the opportunity to play a tournament-level game this early in the season," Bishop Feehan senior Maddy Steel said. "I think it's good to have that test. I was excited for it all day."
Here are six individual standouts from the contest.
Maddy Steel, Bishop Feehan
Class of 2025, 5-8 guard
Hometown: North Attleboro, Mass.
NCAA: Tufts
Steel gave a signature performance with 25 points. The lefty sharpshooter drilled three 3-pointers, including two huge makes in the fourth quarter. She was also one of the main benefactors of Feehan's well-oiled transition offense, and consistently ran the floor for easy buckets from her school teammate, classmate and AAU teammate Charlotte Adams-Lopez (more on her in a moment).
"I just run and I know she's gonna throw it, so I run to half court, and then it's always in the air," Steel said. "She knows where I'm gonna be, and I know she's gonna throw it, so they can't keep up with us."
Steel also remains an underrated guard defender and shot-blocker, where she had a few nice moments jumping passing lanes and sending back layup attempts on Tuesday.
Charlotte Adams-Lopez, Bishop Feehan
Class of 2025, 5-8 guard
Hometown: North Attleboro, Mass.
NCAA: Brown
Though Steel led on the scoreboard, I think Adams-Lopez was the most impactful two-way player in this matchup. She finished with 12 points, eight assists and seven steals, with nine of those points coming in the second half. Her offensive rebound-tip-assist to Steel gave the Shamrocks a critical 3-pointer late in the game.
Adams-Lopez sparked those transition sequences with her passes, but in the second half, she got more decisive taking the ball to the basket herself, including a strong driving finish past Owumi that drew a foul.
"I think I try to get up a certain number of shots per game, and then when it hits halftime and I realize I don't have any points, I try to get more aggressive," she said. "I'm more of a passer, but I still try to get up shots."
Adams-Lopez's defense was superb, too. She was one of several Shamrocks that got rotated onto guarding Owumi, and she battled despite being undersized. Adams-Lopez wreaked havoc as an off-ball defender who came in to force steals and jump balls, and she intercepted a ton of swing passes to the opposite side.
"Coach tells us to put a lot of ball pressure on, so I think that's something that helped us a lot this game," Adams-Lopez said. "We had a lot of steals, and then we needed to push the ball in transition."
Addison Frenette, Bishop Feehan
Class of 2027, 5-9 guard/forward
Hometown: Mansfield, Mass.
Frenette is a new name for me, and I want to give her props for her work in the fourth quarter. She jumped three different passing lanes to force steals and they all led to buckets, either by her or a teammate. Frenette was another defender who had to take shifts guarding Owumi, and I thought she handled the assignment fairly well for her experience level. Bishop Feehan's biggest question mark entering the season was how it would fill out the wing and frontcourt positions behind Mullen. Frenette's effort level and quickness is a great sign she can be an impact player.
Bella Owumi, St. Mary's
Class of 2027, 5-11 guard/forward
Hometown: Lynn, Mass.
Even though the Spartans lost, Owumi's presence was felt in the stats (20 points, 12 rebounds, six blocks) and in the way Bishop Feehan built its gameplan around containing the top prospect.
It starts on defense. Owumi practically let one player drive by her so that she could chase down the block — I've almost never seen a high school player be able to do that. Her blocks were literal swats, both on the ball and in help, and she could outleap anyone on the court for rebounds. Owumi is simply a different caliber of athlete, and it's why she's already got offers from the likes of Miami, Louisville, Syracuse and many more colleges.
But the growth I saw came on offense. Owumi seems more confident with her dribbling and her court vision is improving, as shown on that buzzer-beating whip pass to Roberts and some nice pick-and-roll and transition connections with Reese Matela. She also drilled four 3-pointers, and shooting has long been one of Owumi's biggest areas for growth. Her continued development into a well-rounded two-way star has been exciting for me to see — though it's probably terrifying for the rest of the state.
Lily Norton, St. Mary's
Class of 2027, 5-8 guard
Hometown: Marblehead, Mass.
When St. Mary's trailed in the third quarter, Norton took increased command of the offense, and it helped the Spartans take back the lead. I think her best play might have been when she grabbed an offensive rebound along the baseline, scanned the defense for outlets to the perimeter, decided she liked her matchup, and quickly attacked back for a bucket. Norton is a smart decision-maker, but her growing confidence and willingness to use her physical strength to score can take her game up a level. She had eight points and seven assists.
Reese Matela, St. Mary's
Class of 2025, 6-1 center
Hometown: Swampscott, Mass.
NCAA: Assumption
Matela tallied a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. She put in great work as a screener and roller, and was consistently rewarded by her teammates with high-low passes that she converted for layups. Matela has great touch around the basket, runs the floor hard and rebounds. She doesn't get the same shine as other St. Mary's stars, but she's a reliable, important leadership piece on a young roster.
Quick shouts:Â Feehan 2026 wing Mollie Mullen got stuck in foul trouble, but when she could play, she played well, scoring 10 points with impactful defense. I thought she did the best of any Shamrock moving 1-on-1 with Owumi. ... St. Mary's senior Juliana Conte and eighth-grader Sysy Mcausland-Emmanuel both showed promising flashes in the rotation, and they're two more reasons to buy into the Spartans' season-long upside.
